Raven
by Middlemist1
Summary: If Feyre were to meet Rhysand before she ever killed Andras. One-shot


Disclaimer: All rights go to Sarah J Maas

The snow still hadn't come.

I'd been prepared every day for the last two weeks. The dark clouds, the bitter cold. All of it indicated snow. But it had been two weeks, and still, there was no snow.

That didn't mean it was any warmer though.

I sat on the second branch of an ancient oak, trying to blow some warmth into my gloved hands.

There'd been no signs of life for the three hours I had been out here, and I'd been out here since dawn.

This day should have been like any other. I'd crawled out of bed before the sun had even peaked itself above the horizon, trying not to wake my sisters. I'd put on as many layers of clothes as possible upon seeing the biting wind attacking the trees. There was no breakfast- there never was- so I'd already been able to feel the hunger eating away at my stomach.

But today wasn't like every other day. I usually went northwest, to a small pond that deer were frequently spotted at. But today I went northeast, to a glen long since browned over. I still don't know why I'd decided to come here. There were rarely any animals to hunt, but I couldn't bring myself to regret the decision. I was confident that one would show up. I didn't know why. It felt as though I was waiting for something. As if something had dragged me here.

I shook my head.

 _That's crazy. I'm probably just here because I... because..._

I couldn't think of a real reason.

I shook myself again, shifting in the tree as my legs began cramping.

So I sat there on the second branch of the oak tree. Waiting for something that might never come.

I went to the same tree the next day. Same branch. Same spot.

It still hadn't snowed. It should have yesterday, but it didn't. I knew I should be grateful. No snow equals not being wet, which equals a decreased chance of hypothermia.

But I couldn't shake the feeling that the lack of snow meant something.

I knew better than to voice my concerns to my family. Nesta would likely laugh in my face.

But still, I waited.

It'd been three days, and still no luck of finding food. The doe I had caught a week ago was almost gone, and I knew I needed to catch something by tomorrow or else we would go to bed hungry.

But I couldn't bring myself to go to the pond.

The sun had long since passed its peak in the sky when I heard it.

A rustling noise headed right towards the glen.

I pulled an arrow and strung it, so silently that the forest didn't even stop it's whispering.

But as the rustling got louder, the forest suddenly went quiet. In all of my years hunting in this forest, I had never encountered an animal that made it go this quiet. Even when I killed it, there was always still some background noise.

As the rustling grew louder I could hear the sound of something dragging its feet. I'd never heard an animal move like that.

Even with the cold, beads of sweat began to form on my forehead.

And as the creature stepped into the dying sunlight, its form so clear that I could see what looked like a tattoo peaking over the lapels of his bloodied shirt, I had to grab onto the trunk and bite my tongue to suppress the scream that had made its way up of my throat.

A faerie.

 _Shit, shit, shit... This isn't happening. This must be a nightmare. This isn't happening._

I stood as still as possible, trying not to make a sound. If it- If _he_ realized I was here it would be all over. And I didn't survive this long to die at the hands of a faerie.

I tried to calm my racing heart, my mind. Tried to take in as much information as I could.

It was a man- no _male_ , as faeries weren't men. He had raven black hair and crushing blue eyes- so dark they looked violet. He was wearing all black, his skin so pale it looked as if he had never seen the sun. And he was injured. Long gashes streaked along his back. Burns covered his arms, and there was a wound on his right side as if he had been stabbed. A greenish tinge could be seen on it. And he was, by far, the most beautiful man I had ever seen.

I cursed myself.

Of all the things- _Of all the things_ _I could be thinking right now-_ that is what I notice!

Even if it was true.

I cursed at myself again.

The male slowly crossed the glen, leaning against the trees bordering it, and groaned as he slowly sat down.

 _I should help- no! He is a faerie. A murdering, horrible creature who will..._

I listed off all of the reasons I should hate him. All of the stories I had heard, from nursery rhymes to drinking songs, of the terrible creatures that faeries were.

But as I watched him lay there, dying, I couldn't help that part of me that screamed to jump off the second branch of the ancient oak and help him.

 _No!_ I shouted at myself.

 _Yes!_ Some other part of me yelled. Some part of me I didn't even know _was_ a part of me.

The raven-haired male saved me from making a decision.

"I know you're there." He said quietly, but not weakly.

I nearly fell out of my tree, every muscle in my body locking up.

 _How-_

"I can sense you." He said. As if answering my question.

That's impossible. Mind reading is impossible.

He chuckled as if he could tell what I was thinking.

"Relax, I'm not going to hurt you. Even if I wanted to- which I don't- do I look like I am in any position too?" He said.

I slowly climbed out of the tree. The second my feet touched the ground I had pulled an ash arrow- one I had gotten years ago from a traveling merchant, an arrow I had long since deemed useless- and aimed it at his heart.

He took one look at it and closed his eyes.

"If you're going to shoot, then shoot. If not, please lower it to save me the pain of waiting in suspense for what will surely come if you do shoot."

I don't know why I did, but I lowered my bow. Even when every bone in my body was screaming at me not to.

He cracked an eye, "What is your name."

Feyre.

But I didn't answer.

He chuckled again.

"Are you just going to stand there, or..."

The tone of his voice made red cloud my vision.

"I'm debating on whether taking out my arrow and shooting you with it." I snapped angrily. I didn't notice that all fear of him had left me.

"Please don't." His mouth tugged up on one side.

 _His mouth-_

I cursed myself again.

The other side of his mouth lifted.

I slowly walked over to him. Walked until I was just far enough away to where he couldn't reach me.

"What's your name?" I asked, a less bite to my voice than in my first sentence spoken to him.

He just lifted his eyebrows, not answering.

A breathy laugh escaped me.

I froze as soon as it did.

I _laughed_. And now that I thought about it, I couldn't remember the last time I had done so.

I realized something. This raven haired fae, a creature straight out of a nightmare- or should have been- had made me laugh.

And I trusted him enough to take a step closer and sit down, leaning against the tree next to his.

And we talked.

It was very... slow at first. Lots of questions and non-answers. But we eventually moved into a semi-civilized conversation.

If you had told me a few hours ago that I could be having a semi-civilized conversation with a faerie, I would have laughed at such an outragious.

But now, sitting here, beside the beautiful raven-haired male, I felt more comfortable than I had in months.

We talked for hours, until the sun began to dip below the horizon.

I knew there was nothing I could do for his wounds. I wasn't a healer, and I sure as hell wasn't going to bring him to one.

He glanced at the sun.

"You should go. It is not safe in the woods at night."

I was inclined to protest, not wanting to leave him here to die. But I knew he was right.

So I slowly stood up, my mind trying to catch up to all that had happened.

And as I turned to go he spoke.

"Wait."

I slowly turned.

He was holding something out to me. A small bag, that had seemingly come out of nowhere.

I took those few steps, and gently grabbed the bag without hesitation, my hand brushing against his.

And as I looked into the bag, and saw the gold coins that filled it to the top, and as I looked back at him with tears in my eyes, I couldn't help but wish.

I wish that we had been born in a different world, where I wasn't human and he wasn't faerie, where we were one and the same. Where I could get to know him better than just a few hours of talking.

But we couldn't, and as I stood there trying to find the words to say thank you, he spoke again.

"You need to leave. Pack up everything, take a boat to the continent, do whatever you have to do. Prythian isn't safe anymore."

"I-" I started.

He just smiled at me, as if already knowing what he was going to say. I realized he probably did. And the thought didn't scare me.

And as I walked away, I knew. I knew that I would see him again, either in this life or the next.

Something tickled my nose. The snow had finally begun falling.

"I-" He began.

I turned my head once more.

"I can't shake the feeling that I've been looking for you." He said.

And as I began walking away, I spoke quietly, knowing he would hear.

"I know exactly what you mean."

A/N: Please comment!


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